Biblical Israel

Overlaps between the Canaanite conception of the gods and the Israelite (biblical) conception are already apparent. Much of the Canaanite conception is framed by the centrality of its divine council and its members. There are a number of similarities between this conceptual framework and Yahweh’s assembly (the divine heavenly host) in the Hebrew Bible. Readers are directed to the lengthier entry on Israel’s divine council in this resource for a detailed discussion. Heterodox conceptions of deity in Israel are noted in the Lexham Bible Dictionary article, Israelite Religion.

Given the close proximity of Israel and its Semitic neighbors in Canaan, it is not surprising that the terminology in the texts of Ugarit and Phoenicia has specific parallels in biblical Hebrew. As we saw, the common word for deity in Canaanite texts is ʾil (Ugaritic; plural: ʾilm) or ʾl (Phoenician; plural: ʾlm). Both of these correspond to Hebrew אֵל (el) and אֵלִים (elim). Ugaritic deity is also described with ʾilh (plural: ʾilhm), clear cognates to Hebrew אֱלוֹהַּ (eloha) and אֱלֹהִים (elohim).

As also mentioned above, the Hebrew Bible uses elohim of other spirit beings besides the God of the Bible. Psalm 82:1 informs us that the God of Israel presides over other elohim in His own divine assembly. These elohim are referred to as “sons of the Most High” in Psa 82:6 and “spirits” (רוּחֹת, ruchoth) in the council meeting of 1 Kgs 22:19–23. This council of heavenly beings (בְּנֵי אֵלִים, beney elim) meets in the heavens (Psa 89:5–7). It is not a council of men on earth. Deuteronomy 32:8–9 informs us that when God divided up the nations at Babel, he assigned them to other “sons of God” (reading with LXX and DSS; Heiser, “Deuteronomy”; compare Deut 4:19–20; 17:3; 29:25). In disobedience to God, the Israelites bowed down to these other elohim, subsequently called שֵׁדִים (shedim) in Deut 32:17 (usually translated “demons”), a term that actually refers to territorial guardianship, an idea consistent with the allotment of the nations to their administration by God (Heiser, Unseen, 23–37).

The fact that elohim is used more widely of spiritual entities tells us that elohim is not to be tied to, or interpreted by, a unique set of divine attributes. For the biblical writers, Yahweh is one among many elohim, but no other elohim is comparable to Yahweh. Yahweh is “species unique” among elohim. This is why a plurality of elohim in the biblical text does not conflict with biblical statements that “there is none besides” the Lord. The overall biblical usage of this and similar phrases shows that they are designed to express Yahweh’s incomparability, not the non-existence of other elohim, a notion that would be a flat contradiction to other passages (Heiser, “Monotheism,” 4–18).

Because monotheism is a modern term, and because we tend to load one set of attributes to the word g-o-d, “monotheism” is not adequate to tell the story of how the biblical writers conceived of either plural elohim or Yahweh. The same is true of other modern terms (“monolatry”; “henotheism”; “polytheism”). As noted and illustrated above under the section “Inadequacy of Modern Terminology,” the relationship of Yahweh to all other elohim must be described, not defined with a single word. The orthodox biblical position on this matter can only be discerned by noting how the biblical writers take care to distinguish Yahweh as unique.

Distinguishing Yahweh was a crucial task for the biblical writers. Nevertheless, the very idea of a council shows that ideas about what happened in the divine realm were shared between Israel and its neighbors. For biblical writers, humanity was created as God’s image to represent Him. There were other shared conceptions.

Astral language is used of the gods (elohim) of Yahweh’s council (Lelli, “Stars”; Zatelli, “Astrology”). The phrases “sons of God” and “morning stars” occur in parallel in Job 38:7. The “sons of God” assigned to the nations in Deut 32:8 are referred to as the “host of heaven” in Deut 4:19–20, the parallel passage describing that event (Deut 17:3; 29:25; 32:17). Yahweh created these beings (Psa 148:1–5; compare especially 148:2–3). He assigns their names (Psa 147:4). The heavenly host assist in carrying out Yahweh’s decrees (1 Kgs 22:19–23). They are a massive army (Isa 40:26), familiar with fighting on Yahweh’s behalf (Judg 5:20).

Stars, of course, shine radiantly (Psa 148:3). Divine beings are described as radiant in the Bible. God is light (1 John 1:5) and a “sun” (Psa 84:11; Mal 4:2). Elsewhere, His radiant splendor is evident (Isa 60:19–20; Ezek 1:4, 27–28; Dan 7:9; Psa 29:7; Hab 3:4). The risen Christ is luminous (Rev 1:15). Divine beings who serve the Lord are radiant or fiery in appearance (2 Kgs 2:11; Ezek 1:14; Isa 6:2; Psa 104:4; Dan 10:6).

Yahweh of Israel is also depicted anthropomorphically. God “walked” in Eden (Gen 3:8). He visited Abraham with two angels and shared a meal (Gen 18–19). He appeared to Jeremiah in bodily form, touching him (Jer 1:1–9). Yahweh’s name—His presence—was embodied in an angel (Exod 23:20–23; compare Judg 2:1; Deut 4:37; see Heiser, Unseen, 127–48). It is no coincidence that only this particular angel (mal’ak) is referred to as elohim (Gen 35:7; compare Gen 32:22–32; Hos 12:4) and linked with Yahweh’s own identity (Gen 48:15–16; note the singular verb form “bless”). Dozens of passages describe the angel of the Lord and other angels in human terms (e.g., Gen 18:2, 16 [compare Gen 19:1]; Num 22:23–24; Judg 6:11–22; 13:6; 1 Kgs 19:5; 2 Sam 24:16).

Less familiar is the way the Bible also on occasion describes God in super-human terms. For instance, the size of the holy of holies in the temple (10 cubits high and wide; 1 Kgs 6:23–28) is striking against the backdrop of the conceptions of other cultures. The skirt of Yahweh’s robe fills His heavenly temple (Isa 6:1). The earth is Yahweh’s footstool (Isa 66:1). Ezekiel’s temple is oversized (Ezek 40–48), but pales in comparison to the gargantuan proportions of the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:15–21). All these exaggerations of size are expression of Yahweh’s greatness.

While not a democracy, the divine council in the vision of Micaiah the prophet in 1 Kgs 22:19–23 tells us that Yahweh’s council is a deliberative body. God had decided it was time for the wicked Ahab to die, but he leaves the means up to his council:

“And Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, “I will entice him.” And the Lord said to him, “By what means?” And he said, “I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.” And he said, “You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.” Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you’ ” (1 Kgs 22:19−23).

There are other glimpses of this kind of divine decision making, where God’s decree and genuine participation on the part of His council are both evident. In Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream where a divine being of Yahweh’s council (“a Watcher, a holy one”; Dan 4:13, 17) shows him a great tree being chopped down, and its stump (later revealed to be a man) loses its (his) mind and lives among the beasts of the field. The words spoken by the Watcher are of interest:

“The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the command of the holy ones, in order that the living will know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and to whomever he wills he gives it” (Dan 4:17).

The source of the decree is said to be the Watchers, but sovereignty belongs to the singular Most High. Later, when Daniel interprets the dream, he says, “This is the explanation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king” (Dan 4:24). Here we see that the ultimate authority behind the decree is God, the Most High, and yet the Watcher who delivered the decree in verse 17 said “the sentence is by decree of the watchers.” Both God and His divine council agents were involved in the decision.

By way of summary, for the writers of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh was one of many elohim, but none among the other elohim could compare to Yahweh. Divine beings, including Yahweh, are frequently cast as human in appearance but also brilliantly luminous. Some divine beings are in rebellion, but those loyal to Yahweh carry out his decrees in the administration of both the spiritual and terrestrial realms.